Bellingham

Decision

Rejected by voters

Date

May 28, 2025

Decided by

Town Meeting (Article 19)

Vote

110 against, 70 in favor

What the records show

• The campaign put its hearing choreography in writing. “When our ‘NFG Team’ plans for a public hearing we divvy up topics as there is usually a time limit for each speaker. I usually do the reminder about the industry’s marketing tactics. Someone else will describe the policy itself. Another will talk about medical conditions…”
• On voting day, the organizing was reported as it happened. “I believe two young people from Needham (NFG youth activists) may be handing out flyers as anttendees [sic] enter the meeting tonight. An adult activist from Belchertown mailed post cards to likely voters. Some good grassroots work happening.”
• That mailing has a paper trail, and it leads out of town. A ballot-question committee named “Nicotine Free Generation” filed a Bellingham campaign finance report: $780.21 raised, all from its treasurer, Belchertown Board of Health member Kenneth Elstein, $780.21 spent on postcards and flyers.
• Bellingham asked first, and the network answered. The health agent emailed Brookline on January 9, 2025; next morning’s reply offered “a local ad-hoc group that can help testify at Board meeting/hearings” and copied the Melrose-based regional coordinator, who became the central contact.
• Residents decided it, and said no. Because Bellingham proceeded by by-law, Article 19 failed at Town Meeting on May 28, 2025, 110 to 70.

Document Library

The complete public-records production, as released by the custodian.

Every document opens as a PDF. Files produced in other formats — Word, Excel, Outlook messages — were converted for readability, with the original one click away behind a grey tag (.DOCX). Nothing has been withheld, compressed or edited: the count above is every file the custodian released. A few archives and calendar files cannot be rendered as PDF and appear in their original format.